1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a calculation training tool for teaching fundamentals of addition and subtraction especially to fresh pupils of low ages, and to a training system using that tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
A beginner pupil can easily learn the fundamental calculations of addition and subtraction if tools such as marbles, tiles or blocks are used. This is because the pupil can visually recognize the result easily if the marbles, tiles or blocks are moved by the number of addition or subtraction.
However, the tools such as marbles, tiles or blocks are troublesome for preparations and are easily scattered and lost.
Another method is to count the number with the fingers of the pupil.
Although it is very primitive and easy to recite the number by folding the fingers, not any text but the fingers themselves are used. Therefore, this method is not easy for training the pupils on the educational site. Moreover, the teacher finds it difficult with the on-finger counting method to teach the concepts of increase/decrease, sum and remainder, and the pupils also find it difficult to learn those concepts.
If an abacus or “soroban” is used, on the other hand, the result of calculation can be visually confirmed so that the calculations can be visually learned in the effective manner. However, it takes a long time and a hard training to learn the operations of the abacus proficiently, and the beginner pupil of a low age to learn the basis of calculations for the first time finds it difficult to use the abacus.
This is because the operations themselves of the abacus contain the elements of addition and subtraction and the elements of the on-finger counting method with the mental calculations, and because the movements of beads are just to confirm the results of the mental calculations.
From these points, therefore, it is not proper to use the abacus itself as a training tool for the pupil of a low age at the stage where the pupil is required for learning the addition and subtraction themselves.
On the other hand, the pupil learns a by-writing calculation at an elementary school. This by-writing calculation is done by writing an operand and an addend/subtrahend at upper and lower positions. In a carrying-up or carrying-down case, it is necessary to write the number to be carried as a suffix. Under these circumstances, the pupil needs a very long time for learning the carrying-up-down procedure, and the teacher finds it troublesome to teach that stage.
In short, any of the aforementioned calculation methods of the related art is neither easy for the pupil to learn nor efficient for the teacher.
Here, the Inventor has not acquired any publication of the related art on the training tool, which can solve the aforementioned problems.